Public Opinion on Federalism in the United States and Canada in 2002: The Aftermath of Terrorism

This research reports on a public-opinion survey on intergovernmentaland border issues in Canada and the United States conductedin mid-April 2002. In the United States, there was an upsurgein public support for the federal government in 2002 over 2001,and a slight decline in public evaluations of state and localgovernments. Increased support for the federal government wasespecially notable among whites, Republicans, and respondentswith post-undergraduate education-groups that previously registeredlow support for the federal government. Canadians reported lesssatisfaction with all governments in their federal system, lowersupport for their federal government, and much more regionaland partisan division over intergovernmental issues. On internationalborder issues, Americans and Canadians generally agreed thata common border-security policy would be a good idea, thoughCanadians were slightly more likely than Americans to preferease of cross-border trade over improved border security.     

The need for centres of health research excellence in the developing world

Pervasive ill health and overpopulation impede progress in most developing countries but in recent years, programs providing aid to these regions have de-emphasized health as a priority. Furthermore, support for building the health research capacity, so essential to the success of efforts to promote improved health, has been lacking. This paper examines these policies as they relate to one developing country, one global h ealth program and a major Canadian development agency. Much has been achieved in the past decade in one of the world's poorest countries, Bangladesh, but major health problems persist, particularly in maternal and child health. With the will to build effective health programs, Bangladesh lacks the resources and the research base needed for their development. The World Health Organization, (WHO) Diarrhoeal Disease Control (CDD) program, which addresses a major cause of child mortality in Bangladesh, promotes effective treatment but it contributes little to a permanent research establishment in that country. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) which directs only a small portion of its $2.2 billion annual budget to health, lacks an influential level of technical expertise in health. This agency has no mandate to support health research in the developing world; research is the responsibility of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Health Sciences Division of which closed in July, 1995. To upgrade the place of health and health research in development, the attitudes and policies of major donors must change and models of success are needed. Of the existing institutions or programs involved in health and health research in the developing world, the internationally funded health research centre, strategically sited in the developing world could provide the excellence around which relevant programs should flourish. An existing example of this rare species, the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh, merits particular consideration in this regard.     

Representational roles

Abstract The paper examines the perceptions that representatives and would–be representatives have of their roles as MEPs, what accounts for those differences and what impact they have on MEP behaviour. Three dimensions of role differences were identified. Two of them, AGENT and TRUSTEE can be found in most assemblies but a third, a federal/confederal distinction, is perhaps peculiar to the EU. Individual attitudes to Europe explained this one quite well, nationality explained differences on the AGENT dimension and left–right position provided some explanation for differences on the TRUSTEE role. The combination of role perceptions appear to have some impact on MEPs' activities.     

Disentangling the Weight of School Dropout Predictors: A Test on Two Longitudinal Samples

The aims of this study are to identify the most powerful predictors of school dropout and to determine how stable they are over time. Two generations of White French-speaking boys and girls from 12 to 16 years old (n = 791 in 1974, n = 791 in 1985) completed a self-administered questionnaire on their psychosocial adjustment at least one year before leaving school. As expected, the analyses showed that school, family, behavioral, social, and personality variables could all predict dropping out of school in the two samples. Furthermore, these predictors were quite stable over time. However, statistical improvement measures in logistic regression analyses indicated that school experience variables (i.e., grade retention, school achievement, school commitment) were the best screening variables for potential dropouts. The contribution of other psychosocial variables, even though significant, did not improve very much the capacity to identify who will drop out of school. The discussion highlights the implications of the findings for secondary prevention and screening practices.